


Architects of the War

by cordeliadelayne



Series: Architects [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angels are sneaky, Castiel Has Doubts, F/M, Kissing, Manipulation, Sex, Uriel is a dick, Wall Sex, angel politics, plots within plots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 09:14:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8138707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cordeliadelayne/pseuds/cordeliadelayne
Summary: The angels are going to help Sam and Dean, no matter the cost.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Set in season four. Originally posted to Livejournal in 2008.

**Present**

Uriel stared out across the deserted parking lot, his jacket wafting in the light breeze. He was listening intently to the hushed conversation taking place in one of the alleyways behind him and gritting his teeth in annoyance. Such transactions were always so _unseemly._ He was just grateful that he wasn’t required to engage in them. Not that even an Archangel would dare to suggest as much.

“You’re projecting your disapproval again,” Castiel told him, walking out of the alleyway, his tie askew. Uriel cocked his head but didn’t turn towards him. “It’s distracting.”

Uriel huffed in reply and instead concentrated on keeping his eyes on the Stain as she slipped across the parking lot towards the Winchester’s motel.

“I should trust to your plan?”

Castiel moved to stand next to his brother, just close enough that their wings could have touched if they had wanted. “It’s not _my_ plan.”

Uriel glanced at Castiel from the corner of his eye. “Then it may just work.”

Castiel was surprised into a small laugh, his vessel’s eyes crinkling in pleasure. “That it may.”

**One Month Ago**

Dean’s dismissal of him, of both of them he amended silently, had stung, but Castiel could not confide as much to Uriel. It wasn’t that he was concerned that his fellow angel wouldn’t understand, but more because he was worried that he would. And he was annoyed that Uriel had kept his visit to Dean from him until afterwards. There was a reason he had been chosen to pull Dean from Hell; it should be him that dealt with the eldest Winchester.

But that was too much like pride talking and so Castiel very carefully stifled the brief glimmer of emotion. He knew first hand where an angel’s pride led and he had no intention of being one of _those_ angels. The War was too important for him to risk falling.

“You seem distracted,” Uriel told him. Castiel frowned slightly.

“Anna is with the Archangels.”

Uriel waited for Castiel to continue and almost-not-quite rolled his eyes when he didn’t. “And this troubles you?”

Castiel looked down at the damaged floor. They were in an old church that had seen better days – the pews were mouldy and broken, the font covered in dust, the windows grimy and uncared for. But it was still a house of God, however neglected, and it offered the angels a momentary respite from the battles they faced.

“I am sure their decision will be just,” Castiel replied, finally looking Uriel in the face. Uriel’s gaze travelled over his vessel and Castiel found himself bracing for the inevitable criticism.

“You did not want to go after Anna in the first place.” It wasn’t a question and Castiel saw no point in responding to it like it was. Instead he looked around at the church and sighed at all it represented. Humanity’s evident lack of faith was disappointing.

“She made a choice.” He paused. “It is not our place to judge whether or not she was right.”

Uriel turned his back on Castiel and walked to the front of the church. With each step the pews began to shine as if freshly polished and the building began to hum with whispered prayers of devotion until finally it was as clean and bright as when it was first built.

“You are angry with me.”

Castiel was quick to respond. “Of course not…”

“You do not like my methods,” Uriel interrupted.

“We each serve God in our own way.”

Uriel smiled grimly. “Dean Winchester is a difficult subject.”

Castiel returned the smile, equally grim. “He has been through a lot.” Uriel snorted. “He did what he had to do to survive. He took no pleasure in the acts he was made to perform.” His voice was strong and stern; his belief in Dean did not waver. It was why Uriel’s scrutiny of him was much more acute than it ever had been before.

“So much faith, brother. I hope it is not misplaced.”

Castiel hoped the same, but he left the thought unvoiced. Things seemed much more complicated now they were amongst humans again; watching them from a distance had left many of them unprepared for the reality. He regretted that he’d not taken the opportunity to study them as closely as perhaps he should have, but there was no time to dwell on such thoughts.

He watched them now though. He was fascinated by them. He could see why Anna would have wanted to experience humanity; even with all its many faults the teeming mass of humans had a beauty that was breathtaking, but he couldn’t feel as she had. The desire to rip out his own Grace…it was as alien to him as every other human emotion.

“It is far better that the Winchesters co-operate willingly.”

“For us or them?” Uriel was quick to ask.

Castiel sighed. “We should be allies, Uriel. We have enough enemies to contend with as it is.”

Uriel acknowledged the remark with a slight nod of his head. “You don’t believe they respond well to my threats?”

“I think Dean will always choose Sam. No matter what the cost.” Castiel tried to find the words to explain the bond he had witnessed between the brothers. “They have a closeness that is not so different from our own.”

“Which we can use to our advantage.”

“The demons will use it too,” Castiel countered. “Lillith will use it. She’s already used it.” He waved his arm in a frustratingly human gesture. “Every demon they have ever encountered has used it. Divide and conquer will not work with them. It is foolish to try it.”

“Foolish?” Uriel asked, a slight edge to his voice.

Castiel regretted the choice of word, but he stood by the sentiment all the same. “When one approach does not work, we must try another.”

“And what approach would that be?” Uriel’s eyes glittered dangerously but Castiel felt no fear. Uriel, for all his strength and quickness of temper would not harm a fellow angel without a direct order. Castiel fervently hoped never to be the cause of one.

“And what of the demon Ruby?” The voice came out of the darkness behind them and even Uriel was startled. “Where does she fit in all of this?”

Castiel and Uriel lowered their heads respectfully as the Archangel walked towards them. His step was slow and measured, befitting the age of the vessel he had taken. But this figure was merely a ruse, belying the strength he easily exuded. Castiel envied the way he seemed so comfortable in the use of human limbs and thought.

“She appears to be helping the Winchesters,” Castiel replied, the puzzlement in his voice evident. “She submitted to be tortured in order to lure us into facing the demons. And she has some power – her magic kept them hidden from us for a time.”

“And what say you, Uriel?”

“She is a pest worthy of extermination.”

The Archangel smiled. “Always so eager, Uriel. Our Father’s plan is a far-reaching one. We should explore every avenue at our disposal.”

“What are you proposing?” Castiel asked.

“The Demon Ruby has a certain influence over the Winchesters. We may be able to use that to further our Father’s plan.”

Uriel pushed back his shoulders but refrained from a comment that they all knew would lead to censure. Instead he moved away to examine the stained glass window on the far side of the church. He could still hear what they were saying but the intricacies of this particular plan he knew would be more Castiel’s forte than his own. The fact that the Archangel did not call him back confirmed his belief.

“What would you have me do?” Castiel asked.

The Archangel indicated for him to sit, and sat down on the pew behind Castiel, meaning that Castiel had to sit awkwardly, with his back slightly twisted in order to look the Archangel in the face. It was a subtle reminder that comfort was not to be sort amongst the humans.

“Ruby is not likely to help us just because she is asked. Indeed, it would be best if she does not realise she is helping us at all. If she believes that she is taking advantage of _you._ ” The last word was spoken confidently, as if the decision had already been made. Which of course it had. Castiel was in no position to refuse the command of an Archangel, even if he had wanted to.

“And how do you propose I do this?”

Castiel bowed his head as the Archangel began to talk, the words washing over him with the softness of a prayer and the heat of a battle cry. It would seem he had many trials still to face.

**Three Weeks Ago**

It didn’t take long to track down the Winchesters and Ruby. Castiel wondered if the demons found it so easy, but dismissed the thought as one that would only lead to undue worry. He had seen enough to know that they were more than capable of looking after themselves. What had taken time was deciding on how to approach the Demon. He was unschooled in what he must do and had so taken to observing humanity’s coupling in a way that he had up till now refused to do. Uriel had many things to say about it, but Castiel had taken to ignoring them. They did not help but he did not want to dismiss them altogether – Uriel would serve as a very useful conscience if he found himself too enamoured by his task.

The bar was crowded but thankfully the only demon present was Ruby. The Winchesters had left to go hunting two days ago and had left Ruby to her own devices. Castiel idly wondered if they ever considered what she did when they were apart, but he thought not. For all the apparent relationships she was building with them, he felt it was very much a case of out of sight, out of mind. It was a phrase he had heard only recently, but it summed up humanity very neatly.

He hesitated slightly in the doorway. He felt a little ridiculous, having removed his vessel’s tie and replaced his coat with a dark jacket. But he’d spent enough time now observing all of the societal expectations of this kind of encounter to know that his normal wardrobe would make him out as other, something he could not afford this time. If he took some pleasure in masquerading as human, he refused to acknowledge it.

He moved swiftly towards the bar and ordered a couple of drinks, one of which he asked the waitress to send over to Ruby. He took a sip of his own (water) and watched with interest as the waitress pointed him out to Ruby. Ruby’s eyes grew wide and she glanced around her and then at the drink in suspicion. It was enough of an introduction and he moved over to her, amused despite himself that she looked ready to flee.

“It isn’t poisoned,” he told her.

“What do you want?” she demanded, her fingertips gingerly pushing the glass away from her. He tried to hide his smile and sat down on the stool opposite her. She had chosen a good spot, one that allowed her to keep an eye on all the exits. He wondered what she was doing there.

“I’m just having a drink,” she interrupted his thoughts to say, belligerent tone still present and correct. He doubted very much that she ever _just_ did anything, but he must not forget that he had a role to play.

“As am I.”

They kept watching each other for several moments, Ruby’s eyes flickering between brown and pure demon black until they settled on her body’s normal shade.

“So, you were just in the neighbourhood?”

“Would you believe me if I said that I was?”

“No,” Ruby replied decisively. She signalled with her hand for the waitress to bring her a fresh drink. Castiel filed away the action for later use.

“And you would be right. I came looking for you.”

The waitress placed a new drink on the table and took the other one away, patting Castiel softly on the shoulder as she walked away. The action confused him, much to Ruby’s amusement.

“She thinks I blanked you.”

Castiel’s frown increased.

“Rejected you. Told you to get lost. You know, all the things I am doing,” Ruby expanded. It wasn’t very noticeable at first but she was relaxing; Castiel had been studying her closely enough to recognise the signs. For all her worldly knowledge, there was something almost innocent about her demon needs – the three F’s as Uriel had taken to calling it, having picked up the phrase from a particularly foul-mouthed demon he’d sent back to Hell.

“Human motivations can be very confusing.”

Ruby shrugged. “It helps to have been one.” He didn’t think the wistful tone of her voice was an act, but he didn’t respond to the comment, he merely filed it away for future reference.

“The Winchesters aren’t with you?”

“You know you suck at making conversation,” Ruby said. “They’re hunting. As you well know.” She sipped at her drink, her eyes avoiding the angel’s gaze. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to know why you’ve been helping them.” It wasn’t actually the question he’d been meaning to ask, but it had slipped out unbidden. He vowed to keep a check on himself in future, but for now his curiosity was getting the better of him.

“I want Lillith dead,” Ruby replied. There was no hesitancy, no consideration, just a simple statement of fact that drove everything she did. He could easily see that she would do anything to accomplish that goal. It just so happened that Sam’s goal was the same. He wasn’t so sure about Dean’s.

He took a sip of his own drink as he tried to decide whether her apparent single-mindedness would be a hindrance or an asset.

“And what of your fellow demons?”

Ruby laughed. “It’s not like we’ve got a Union. And if I gave a damn, I wouldn’t be helping Sam kill them, would I?”

“You don’t see anything wrong in encouraging him to use his powers?”

“If you’ve got ‘em, you should use ‘em.”

Castiel inclined his head; there was a certain logic to her statement.

“But you don’t know the consequences of the path you have set him upon. Using his powers is dangerous.”

Ruby tilted her head in a defiant gesture. “I’m not the one who made him. You guys dropped the ball on that one.”

Castiel bristled at her accusation. “What matters is what happens next.”

“Doesn’t it, just?” Ruby replied, downing her drink in one. “You gonna buy me another?”

Castiel nodded and turned away, giving Ruby the chance she wanted to disappear out the back entrance. It wouldn’t hurt for her to think that she could easily slip away from him if she needed to. And besides, he’d done what he needed for now. The groundwork had been laid.

**Two Weeks Ago**

The demons poured in from every doorway and Ruby cursed the fact that she hadn’t paid enough attention to the whispers on the grapevine. Lillith had placed a hell of a price on her head and now it looked like these guys were going to collect.

Not without a fight though, she promised herself, her knife easily dispatching the first two. She’d burned too many bridges to submit to capture quite that easily. But their sheer numbers seemed to tell against her – and damn did she hate it when demons worked together, it always made things messy.

One demon yanked at her hair while the other tried to take the knife from her hand. She kicked out at it, determined that they not take that at least, and pulled her head forward, gritting her teeth as she felt a handful of hair get ripped from her scalp. She had no time to do anything but squirm out of the way of a vicious kick aimed at her stomach, which missed and hit her thigh instead. It still shook her enough that she fell to the floor and she just managed to roll out of the way of a chair-wielding demon, flinching as the broken slats smacked against her cheek.

She was about to reorient herself towards the door when a bright light appeared in the doorway, growing brighter and brighter until she had to shield her eyes from it. She only opened them again when gentle fingers prodded at her bruised cheek.

“Castiel?” she asked in surprise, her eyes blinking furiously.

“You are injured,” he whispered softly, his fingers still tenderly touching her. She hadn’t been touched like that in a long time and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable, though she wasn’t sure why.

“I’m fine,” she replied, moving her head away from him. He only stared at her, looking disappointed, before standing and stretching out his hand to her. Reluctantly she took it and allowed him to help her to her feet.

“What did you do?”

“They have all been sent back to Hell.”

“Why?”

Castiel tilted his head. “Why not?”

“I…” She smiled, despite herself. “There really is no answer to that, is there?” She looked around and picked up her knife and then her bag, which lay where she had dropped it on coming back to her motel room. She’d been tracking the Winchesters who were still a day ahead of her and it seemed she had grown sloppy. She had information that could prove useful – to them and to her – and she couldn’t deliver it if Lillith got hold of her again.

“The Winchesters are in the next town.”

“I know,” Ruby replied. “I was on my way there.” She didn’t know why she felt a need to explain herself to the angel, but suddenly she wanted to prolong the conversation.

“And yet you stopped off here. It wouldn’t take that long to get there.” His eyes roamed over her body and she wondered what he was looking for.

“Yeah, well.” She shrugged. It had been a while since she’d seen them and while she was pretty confident she wouldn’t be thrown out, she wasn’t foolish enough to think her welcome would be completely warm. Their trust of her only extended so far.

“I have need to see them as well,” he said. “And it is not safe for you to remain here.”

“And why _do_ you care, all of a sudden? Aren’t you supposed to be all about smiting my kind?”

“Do you consider yourself one of them?”

“I _am_ one of them,” she replied, refusing to answer the question. It wasn’t one she liked to dwell on.

Castiel moved towards the window and looked out. The view wasn’t particularly inspiring, but for the price Ruby was paying, it wasn’t supposed to be. “I am beginning to discover that not everything is as black and white as I would like it to be.” He could feel Ruby’s eyes on him, coolly assessing. “Humanity has many shades of grey. Far more than I think they even realise. It is what makes them so…” he turned around to face her, “…fascinating.”

“You really dig all this, don’t you? Being around humans?”

Castiel nodded. “They…you…are so different from what I was expecting. You’ve changed so much.”

“A lot happens in two thousand years,” Ruby noted wryly. She stepped forward and then changed her gaze to sweep around the room, as if disinterested in her next question. “What exactly were you going to give the Winchesters?”

Castiel had to avert his own gaze so she couldn’t see his smile. Things were going just as the Archangel had planned.

“Co-ordinates. Another Seal they must stop from breaking.” He paused and waited for Ruby to look at him. “I would have gone there straight away but the sheer number of demons present here suggested something important was happening and so I diverted my course.”

“Huh.” Her eyes remained calculating and it surprised Castiel that he was so easily able to read her emotions; with most humans he still felt that he was floundering. He tried not to think about the fact he thought of her as human; that would only cloud the issue even more.

“But there are other battles being fought…” He tried to think of something that would sound plausible to her. “…My brothers need me.” He hesitated again. Sometimes the words he wanted still stuck in his throat and it wouldn’t do for her to be too suspicious of his motives. He only needed her suspicious enough.

“I could take them,” she suggested. “I’m heading that way, after all.” She smiled at him, but it was her false smile, not the genuine one he’d surprised out of her earlier. He ignored the disappointment this realisation caused him. He was becoming quite practised at ignoring such things.

“That would be surprisingly helpful.”

Ruby shrugged. “That’s me.”

Castiel shook his head in amusement. They were both being so exaggeratedly false with each other that he wasn’t sure who was fooling whom anymore. Or even if either of them was being fooled at all.

“What?” Ruby asked, but her confusion didn’t seem real.

“Nothing. Here.” He handed over a piece of paper, his fingers just brushing against hers as she took it from him. Her eyes shifted away too quickly for him to tell whether she had felt the same spark as he had.

“I better get moving,” she told him, looking at his feet rather than his face. “Should I tell them anything?”

“No, I think it best that you not. Dean is still somewhat…angry with us. I think he still needs some time to,” he tried to appear as if he were struggling with the expression, and apparently succeeded.

“Cool off?” Ruby asked, finally gifting Castiel with a slight smile. “Yeah, he still pretty much thinks you’re dicks.” She went towards the door and then paused. “Sam’s coming around a bit though,” she added in a quieter tone of voice.

She turned around to see if her comment had been well received and found herself annoyed to be looking at an empty room. Then she pulled herself together and started to make her way outside. There was a truck stop nearby where she was bound to be able to hitch a lift to the next town. And plenty of time to try and figure out just what the angel’s deal was.

**One Week Ago**

Castiel and Uriel were arguing, although no harsh words were exchanged, no angry glances, nothing but an exaggerated politeness that was beginning to take its toll on Castiel’s good humour. The plan was going well, Ruby’s trust in him was at least equal to her distrust and the Winchesters had managed to stop one Seal from being broken without the need for angelic interference. And yet Uriel’s disapproval lay like a blanket around him.

“Time is running out.”

“Time is always running out,” Castiel replied, biting back a sharper retort. The more time he spent studying Ruby, the more time he spent amongst the humans, the more easily he felt the bitter words springing to his tongue. He was thankful that his personality had always wavered towards the cautious and more measured of his brothers; if not than he may have said something he would regret far sooner than now.

“The pieces are not all in place, yet.”

The expression “like a dog with a bone” flittered into Castiel’s head and he distracted himself by trying to remember whether it had been Ruby or Dean he’d first heard using it.

“They will be.” Castiel frowned, something he felt himself doing more and more when he was around Uriel. “You should have a little faith.”

Uriel pursed his lips and his eyes narrowed. “Faith?” he repeated. Castiel looked heavenward for a moment and that served to calm him. A little.

“You know what I mean.”

It was a singularly human expression and Uriel’s disapproval was evident on his vessel’s features. “You’re even starting to sound like them.”

“Surely that’s the point?” Castiel asked. Once he would have considered it a worthy criticism, but now he wasn’t so sure. Now it seemed like the best way to survive.

“Just as long as you don’t want to be like them.” Uriel’s tone was unnaturally flat but Castiel well knew the heat that really lay behind them. Uriel would after all be tasked to see that he was punished for any transgression.

“I don’t.”

Something in his tone, or maybe his earnest expression, seemed to soothe Uriel’s worries for he only nodded and looked towards the diner where Sam, Dean and Ruby were eating. They seemed surprisingly relaxed in each other’s company and Castiel considered why that would be so. Sam and Ruby certainly had a bond, not just borne of their coupling, though he suspected some real affection lay behind that, no matter how slight. It was Dean’s reaction he was most surprised by. But then Ruby had become an ally against the other demons, and against the angels he amended with a slight inward wince. Dean placed a lot of faith in those who helped him and his brother. It was a worthy trait. He could easily find himself admiring Dean’s loyalty, though he wasn’t sure such an observation would be welcomed, by Dean or the other angels.

“You place too much stock on what he thinks of you,” Uriel told him. “Their opinion is of no consequence.”

Castiel lowered his head. He knew Uriel was right, but it didn’t _feel_ right. And so he added that to the list of things he was planning on ignoring for as long as possible.

“You are right, of course.”

Uriel looked comically surprised that Castiel was actually agreeing with him for once. “More often than not.”

Castiel looked up, and then smiled as he recognised that Uriel was teasing him. It always seemed a little forced, but Castiel appreciated more than he could express that Uriel would occasionally do so. It was as close to the bond they had in their true forms that they were likely to get in their vessels.

“We should not fight amongst ourselves,” Castiel said. He was gratified when Uriel nodded in acknowledgement. “But I have to do this the way I see fit.”

Uriel huffed but nodded. “You may be right.” He turned to leave. “Just be careful,” he added, glancing quickly over his shoulder to see that Castiel had received the warning with the requisite respect, before vanishing in a flutter of wings.

“You too,” Castiel whispered to the empty air.

**Three Hours Ago**

Ruby cradled the package under her arm and ran. She didn’t bother to look behind her, she was all too aware of what she would see.

“Ruby! Here,” Sam yelled and she didn’t hesitate to throw the package in his direction. She spared him a quick glance to make sure he had caught it and then she disappeared down an alley as he spun off down another.

Her breath was coming in harsh pants but she was able to ignore it – sometimes the edge between her demon self and the body she was possessing was blurred, but not today. Today she needed every ounce of demon strength at her disposal if she was going to get away unscathed.

She turned down one alley and then cursed, loudly. She must have got turned around. This was _supposed_ to be a shortcut to where the Impala was parked. But instead it was a dead end.

“Damn it,” she muttered. She turned around quickly, but the demons that had been chasing her had already picked up her trail. She hurried back to the end of the alleyway, looking for a door she could force open, or some way out that was hidden in the shadows. But luck was not on her side. She reached for her knife and then cursed again as she remembered she’d given it to Dean. He’d been the one who’d gone in to secure the package in the first place, it had only seemed right. She cursed herself for an idiot all the same.

“My, my, what do we have here? Little Ruby Tuesday.” The lead demon, a large stocky man with a face and body made of layers of fat and not much else was standing in the entrance of the alleyway, three other demons fanned out behind him. “Not as bright as you like to think, are you, bitch?”

Ruby gritted her teeth. “Why don’t you come here and say that?” she growled.

The demon laughed, his voice echoing in the unnatural silence that seemed to have covered this part of the city. It made the hairs on the back of Ruby’s neck stand on end. And then she remembered when she’d felt like that before.

“You don’t scare me, little demon.”

“Yeah?” Ruby replied, more confidently than she felt. “Then what about him?”

“You don’t expect me to fall for that one, do you?”

“Your friends certainly didn’t,” Castiel replied from behind him. And before the demon could fully turn around Castiel was placing his hand on the demon’s head, and sending him back to Hell. The body fell to the floor – dead. Castiel looked down at it curiously but there was nothing to be done, the demon had already done too much damage to the human it had been possessing.

“So what are you, then? My guardian angel?” Ruby asked. It was as much of a thanks as Castiel was likely to receive. He was no longer surprised that he could tell this just by the tone of her voice.

“Something like that.” If his answer puzzled her, she refused to let it show. “Are you hurt?” He pointed at the wrist she was cradling.

“It’s just a sprain,” she replied.

Castiel stepped over the bodies of the human’s on the floor and reached out for her wrist. Ruby hesitated a moment and then let him touch her. A few whispered words in a language she didn’t recognise, but which settled pleasantly in her stomach, and she no longer felt any ache in her wrist. Or anywhere else.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she told him, not making any move to remove her wrist from his gentle grip.

“I wanted to,” Castiel whispered softly. His eyes lingered on her lips and then to the wrist, which he slowly released.

Ruby pulled it towards her and touched it gingerly, although she was already certain it would not hurt to do so. The thought that she should properly thank the angel niggled at the back of her mind but the words wouldn’t quite form, and then the moment passed.

“I should get back. They’ll be wondering what happened.”

“Will they?” Castiel asked. His tone was gentle and enquiring, which made it all the worse to Ruby’s mind.

“I…” She opened her mouth and then closed it again. No, they probably wouldn’t. They might spare a thought to whether or not she’d been captured, but only in regards to whether she would betray their plan. Their concern over her well being didn’t extend very far.

But she’d be damned again before she’d admit as much to an angel.

“I’m sure they are grateful for your help in retrieving the Artefact.”

Ruby’s whole body stiffened. “You know?” She was wary now, bracing herself for an attack, and Castiel momentarily regretted that it must be so. But their plan would be on the brink of failure if she had not reacted as she was.

“I know a lot of things.” It was not an answer, by any stretch of the imagination, and Ruby’s expression remained pinched.

“And?”

Castiel decided to forgo words and instead reached forward, tilted her head towards him and kissed her. It was feather light and held the promise of more, if she wanted. His eyes begged her to want.

“You’re not going to smite me?” she whispered. “Or them?”

He leaned forward again so their mouths were almost touching and whispered against her lips “No.”

Ruby closed her eyes and Castiel could feel the moment when her trust of him overruled her distrust. “Now what?” She opened her eyes and stared at him, her brow furrowed in uncertainty.

“Now?” Castiel repeated, as if he had no idea. As if they hadn’t been moving towards this moment from the very beginning. “Now, this.” And he kissed her again, slightly more forcefully this time and she responded in kind, shuffling backwards until her back hit the wall.

She squirmed as Castiel’s fingers edged under her T-shirt and danced across her stomach, even as his mouth stayed on her lips, kissing her breath away. She moved her arms up until they were around his neck, holding him close to her. She knew this was crazy but there was no time to think, not when his erection was pressing into her and his touch was sending shivers up her spine.

“Please,” she murmured when he moved back, not even sure of what she was asking. Castiel kissed her neck and then nibbled at her ear.

“Your wish…” he murmured against her skin, before pulling down her jeans. She flinched slightly as cool air hit her flesh, but that was soon replaced by the flush of desire as Castiel’s fingers slowly entered her, their pressure just light enough to have her begging for more.

Castiel swallowed her moan of frustration as he removed his fingers and then her gasp as she felt him remove his trousers and enter her, maddeningly slowly.

“Castiel,” she groaned, pulling him to her by his tie so he was fully inside of her. She was rewarded by a surprised grunt, which turned into a decidedly masculine groan as he pulled almost the whole way out and then slipped easily inside of her again. “Yes, this,” she murmured, her fingers grabbing on to his shoulders as he began to move more quickly, their bodies seeming to settle into a rhythm all of their own.

“So beautiful,” Castiel murmured. His tone was so reverent that Ruby looked at him in surprise, and felt her first blush in years at the way he was staring at her. She didn’t deserve such a look. Not from an angel. Not from anybody.

But she couldn’t bring herself to ruin the moment. So she just held him tighter and let him kiss her neck and bury himself deep inside of her.

It didn’t take much longer for waves of pleasure to spike through her as her orgasm filled her with more contentment than she’d felt for a long time. Castiel trembled through his own orgasm and Ruby found herself gently rubbing his back as he came back to himself. She wondered if this was the first time he’d done this in this vessel. Or at all. But she figured that was one of those questions you just didn’t ask a servant of the Lord.

Castiel slowly pulled out of her and she did her best not to flinch; she’d be feeling that for a few days.

“The Winchesters are safely in their motel room,” he told her, as if they’d been engaged in a normal conversation this whole time.

“I guess I should join them, then,” Ruby replied, slightly bemused. But then, how were you supposed to react when you’d just had sex with an angel up against a wall?

“I think they would like to see you.” Castiel’s expression was open and relaxed, and Ruby’s own mirrored it.

She pulled on her jeans and nodded. “I…Should I say anything?” She became flustered under the intensity of the gaze Castiel settled on her. “Not about…this…I mean…that you… the Artefact you called it?”

“I will leave that up to you.” Castiel paused, the moment this had all been leading up to filled with the weight of expectation. “Though I would rather you did not.”

Ruby nodded thoughtfully. There were many things to be said in favour of keeping this a secret between the two of them. And if the Winchester’s knew the truth they’d only be more suspicious than they already were. And that wouldn’t do anybody any good.

“Okay. I can keep a secret.” She smiled one of her genuine smiles at him and then leaned up and pecked him quickly on the cheek. “More than one.”

Castiel returned her smile and nodded his thanks. He watched as she hurried to join the Winchesters as he went to join Uriel. He’d tried to ignore his presence during his coupling with Ruby, but it had not been easy.

They engaged in quiet conversation until they were certain Ruby was back with the Winchesters.

“It is still a dangerous plan,” Uriel told him.

Castiel sighed. “They will have need of the Artefact. It is best they do not know we helped them acquire it. It will only lead to difficult questions.”

“Yet the Stain knows.”

He only just stopped himself from telling Uriel that was not her name. “She only knows I know they have it. What part our brothers played in their acquiring it is known only to us.”

“And if they come to learn of it?”

“How will they?” Castiel asked, turning to face Uriel and deliberately not hiding his annoyance. “If one of our brothers betrays the secret…” He shrugged.

“And you think they will use it?” Uriel asked, his eyes easily picking out the hurried packing of the Impala in the distance. “Their compassion weakens them.”

“What you see as a weakness I see as a strength.” Castiel watched them closely, wondering if they would take Ruby with them. He couldn’t decide whether he wanted them to or not. “They will use it when they must.”

“To kill an angel?” Uriel asked sharply.

“We know that it will be necessary one day,” Castiel told him. His mind wandered back to what the Archangel had told him, the betrayal that was already suspected. “Better they have it than the demons. I trust they will use it wisely.”

“Let us hope your trust does not get us all killed.”

Castiel turned to reply but Uriel was gone. He delighted far more than was seemly in having the last word. Castiel’s gaze turned back to the car and, he was concerned to see, its two occupants. Clearly Ruby was to look out for herself.

Not that it was any concern of his. The task was complete and they had all been set on their path. He had enough of an influence over Ruby now that she would be much easier to manipulate. Everything had worked out as it should.

If he spared a moment to wonder when he had started to feel so comfortable about lying to himself, he didn’t consider it too closely. Sacrifices were necessary in every war. In this one, more than most.


End file.
